Southern California -- this just in

L.A. teacher sentenced to life for killing wife on birthday cruise

A 57-year-old teacher from Los Angeles was sentenced in San Diego federal court Thursday to life in prison for beating his wife to death during a luxury cruise to Cabo San Lucas.

Robert McGill was arrested July 16, 2009, for the murder of his wife Shirley, 55.

McGill had worked for the Los Angeles County Office of Education since 1979, and was a teacher for at-risk teenagers in Canoga Park. The couple, married in 2003, lived in Winnetka.

The couple had booked the five-day cruise to celebrate Shirley McGill's birthday and her retirement from the Department of Motor Vehicles. McGill pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and admitted killing his wife in a drunken rage.